the band of discord

Madrid has nine regulars and a band -whole- without owners. The one that Lucas Vázquez, this Saturday, turned upside down. And that already had a noticeable disorder. But on paper, yes. Carvajal was fine, he played, being a luxury spectator of the eternal pulse between Rodrygo and Asensio for a vacancy. Still no winner. But everything changed in Balaídos: Lucas sent him to the bench, a confirmation that Galician is no longer a patch for when the 2 suffer injuries or sanctions; now it’s a reality, one more card in the deck. Carvajal is not only not indisputable anymore, but he is much discussed. The right flank of Madrid staggersbecause the debate no longer falls only on the extreme, also on the side.

Firewood to the bonfire and the embers of opinions grow. the season of Carvajalwith a level well below his optimal performance -which led him to be the best right back in the world for many- has raised some doubts in Ancelotti, who no longer hides what is evident: the right back is also up for debate. In Vigo he chose Lucas Vazquezwhom he has used 24 times this course as a right-handed lane, many more than as a winger (6), despite the fact that this is his natural position. The Galician has 1,795 official minutes this season, only 14′ less than his healthy competitor (1,809′). And, given recent events, the overtaking could happen in the short term.

Like in the extreme. Asensiowith an outstanding outburst a month and a half ago, seemed to break the table with a fist of rage and sentence the position. But his takeoff gave an error in Paris and total failure on the return. It was diluted and gave free rein, again, to the alternation. Rodrygo He pressed, he is squeezing, so much so that he is also about to surpass him in official minutes: 1,631′ in all competitions, compared to 1,652′ for Asensio. Who will play at Stamford Bridge? That is the question. Looking at the statistics, the Brazilian seems to have more options, since he is more assiduous in the Champions League: 340 minutes, for Marco’s 159′. But from the numbers to the blackboards, sometimes, there is an abyss that is difficult to translate.

The point is that the other nine posts are clear. Not a single doubt. It is only the right band that raises questionsbut it does it completely, from the side to the end. Courteous will play under the sticks, reinforced after a new ode to miracles in Vigo; Military and Alaba will act as a wall with Mendy to port; and the ‘Holy Trinity’, made up of Casemiro-Modric-Kroosis the least debatable of all, along with the duo Vinicius-Benzema. Ancelotti has two doubts in his drawing. And this, before this panorama, could give alternations, minutes to the most ‘fixed’ or, even, reinvent itself (Valverde could enter and give consistency to the midfielder in a scheme with four midfielders). Be that as it may, the right wing splits to a Madrid with a clear eleven… Except to starboard.